She Is A Sinner

Luke 7:36-39 (ESV)
³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.
³⁷ And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner."

Jesus accepted this dinner invitation from a Pharisee just as He did from any other sinner. One of big differences we will see as we move further through this encounter is that the Pharisee did not see himself as a sinner, in fact, he saw himself as quite the opposite. Pride and little mercy are both exposed here. Self righteous judgment abounds.

A woman enters, uninvited and unidentified, except as a sinner from the city. Without words she begins a beautiful ministration to our Lord. We know nothing of how her heart was changed, but we know without a doubt a change had taken place. Words could not add to her tears, the wiping and kissing of His feet, or anointing them with ointment as expressions of joy, thankfulness, and acknowledgment of Him as her Lord. Her love for Jesus goes beyond words. Jesus would later wash the feet of His disciples to demonstrate His love for them and to show how they were to live in the kingdom.

The Pharisee wasn’t able to see the beauty of this act or his own sinfulness. This is a problem for anyone who is unable or unwilling to recognize sin in their own life, but are quite able to spot it in others. We are all sinners in God’s eyes. We are equal in that respect. Jesus said He came to save the lost, to heal those who are sick. Jesus saw the woman truly, a child of God returned home. The Pharisee saw her differently, “she is a sinner”. How would life be different if we were able to see ourselves and others through the eye’s of our Lord?